Storage rack column protector

ABSTRACT

A storage rack column protector ( 30 ) is designed to protect a column ( 12 ) from damage from a straddle or outrigger type fork truck. If one of the outrigger forks is aimed at and heading toward the protected column ( 12 ), a ramp ( 36 ) on the protector raises the offending outrigger fork and thus also the wheel of the fork truck. Should the fork truck continue advancing, a stop ( 38 ) will bring the outrigger fork and the fork truck to a complete stop before it makes impact with the column.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No.60/147,718, filed Aug. 6, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference. Since warehouse space for storage of goods is expensive,there are many advantages to an efficient and well organized verticalstorage rack system which will allow the storage of goods in an orderlyfashion. Since the products are stacked vertically, optimum use of thefloor space may be achieved. The disadvantage is that the goods to bestored must be raised to the height of the rack where they are to bestored. The moving and especially the raising of the goods is mostefficiently accomplished via fork trucks.

In as much as fork trucks require aisles to travel to the desiredlocation to either store or retrieve goods from a particular rack, thisaisle space is not available for storage. To maximize the storage areagiven a limited number of square feet in a building or warehouse, onemust minimize the area reserved for aisle space for the fork trucks.Unfortunately, as one reduces the size of these aisles, the room tomaneuver for the fork trucks is also reduced, and the end result is thatthe fork trucks hit the storage racks, damaging the fork trucks as wellas the storage racks.

Counter-balanced fork trucks have a large counterbalancing weight on theback of the truck to compensate for the loads picked up by the forks ofthe truck. In some instances, in order to avoid all the extra load ofthe counterbalancing weights, and also to minimize the overall length ofthe fork trucks, fork trucks known as straddle or outrigger type trucksare used. The outrigger forks are nothing more than another pair offorks with wheels on them secured to the lower front of the forklift.These outrigger forks are not intended to raise and carry any loads.Instead, the outrigger forks ride along at ground level with the wheelscontacting the floor. When a load is picked up by the fork truck, theoutrigger forks press against the floor to counter the weight so as tokeep the fork truck from tipping.

It is not unusual for these outrigger type fork trucks to hit and damagethe base of storage racks around which they are operating. The operatoris very preoccupied with the upper set of forks and where he is tryingto place the goods on the rack, so he is not paying attention to theposition of the outrigger forks. As he drives the truck closer to therack in order to pick up or deliver a load of goods, he may drive one ofthe outrigger forks into a column, damaging the storage rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The column protector of this invention is intended to protect columns ofa storage rack from accidental damage from fork trucks, and specificallyfrom straddle or outrigger type fork trucks.

Each column protector wraps around the front of one of the columns ofthe rack and is secured to the floor. Each column protector stands guardin front of its respective column. The column protector includes a shortramp which has a front edge that lies very close to the floor level. Therear of the ramp preferably ends in a solid upright stop which isadjacent to the front of the column it protects. As a fork truckapproaches the column, if the outrigger fork is aimed at the column,instead of hitting the column, the outrigger fork will ride up theslanting ramp and will pick up the wheel of the fork truck off thefloor. If the truck is moving too fast, such that going up the ramp andpicking up the wheel do not stop the truck, then the offending outriggerfork will hit the upright stop, and this will bring the truck to a stopbefore it has a chance to hit and damage the column.

The column protector of this invention preferably is manufactured from asingle, thick piece of steel, which is cut and formed. The columnprotector is made of a much heavier gauge material than the column it isprotecting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a broken-away perspective view of a rack on which theprotector of the present invention is intended to be used;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of a columnprotector made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is rear perspective view of a fork lift with outriggers loading aproduct onto the rack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the column protector of FIG. 2 mounted on therack of FIG. 3, with the forklift outrigger shown in phantom;

FIG. 5 is a left front perspective view of the column and columnprotector of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is the same view as FIG. 5 but showing a second embodiment of acolumn and column protector;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the column protector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the column protector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the column protector of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of the column protector of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a rack 10, as is known in the prior art. The rack 10includes a plurality of front vertical columns 12 and rear verticalcolumns 14, which are connected together by horizontal beams 16 to formshelves that support products 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the products 18may be loaded onto and unloaded from the rack 10 using a forklift 20having outriggers 22, which project forward from the forklift 20 justabove ground level.

FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 7-9 show a first embodiment of a column protector 30,made in accordance with the present invention, which may be mounted onthe front of a column 12 to protect the rack 10 from being damaged bythe outriggers 22. The column protector 30 is generally U-shaped, andwraps around the front and the left and right sides of the column 12.The column protector 30 includes the following main elements: left andright ears 32, left and right vertical projections 34, a front ramp 36,and a vertical wall or stop 38 projecting upwardly from the front ramp36. The column protector 30 preferably is made from a single piece offlat steel, which is cut to form a blank, and is then formed into thefinal three dimensional finished piece. In this preferred embodiment,the steel from which the column protector 30 is formed is {fraction(5/16)}″ thick. The column 12 itself is preferably made of a muchlighter gauge steel, on the order of 0.070 to 0.120 inch thick.

The left and right ears 32 have flat bottom surfaces lying at theelevation of the floor or other flat surface to which they are mounted,and the columns 12 also have flat bottom surfaces at ground level. Theramp 36 lies at an angle so that its front edge 40 is slightly aboveground level, and its rear edge 42 is at a higher elevation. The frontvertical wall 38 projects upwardly from the rear edge 42 of the ramp 36.Left and right curved arms 44 connect the ramp 36 to the left and rightears 32, respectively, so that the ramp 36 lies between and projectsforward of the ears 32.

The ears 32 have a top surface and a flat bottom surface and definesubstantially vertical holes 46 extending from the top surface throughthe flat bottom surface for bolting the ears down to the flat supportsurface. The interior surfaces of the ears 32, the vertical walls 34,and the upright stop 38 define a U-shaped recess, with the interior sidesurfaces of the U-shaped recess extending parallel to each other andparallel to the left and right sides of the rectangular cross-sectioncolumn 12, which they protect. The front edge 40 of the ramp 36 is theforwardmost point on the column protector 30.

The column protector 30 is slid in from the front of the column 12, sothat the front vertical wall 38 lies approximately one-half inch infront of the column 12, and the left and right vertical walls 34 lieadjacent to the left and right sides of the column 12, leaving a gap ofapproximately one-half inch between the left and right vertical walls 34and the left and right sides of the column 12, respectively. Thus, thecolumn protector 30 is effectively wrapped around the front and sides ofthe column 12 to protect them from the outriggers of the forklift. Theears 32 have holes 46, which receive fasteners that fasten them to thefloor. In this case, the fasteners are concrete anchor bolts 48.

The left and right ears 32 are substantially parallel to each other.They are separated by a distance at least equal to the width of thecolumn 12 and preferably allowing a one-half inch gap between the leftand right vertical walls and the left and right sides of the column 12.The one-half inch space all around the column 12 allows for the slightbending of the column protector 30 without damage to the column 12. Thecolumn protector 30 may bend slightly upon impact, absorbing the energyof the truck 20 to protect the column 12.

An optional gusset 45 may be welded to the underside of the columnprotector 30, connecting and supporting the left and right curved arms44 and the ramp 36.

In this preferred embodiment, the ramp 36 is a flat plate approximately3″ wide by 3″ long and angles up at an angle a of approximately 30degrees from the horizontal. The front and lower edge 40 of the ramp isapproximately ½″ above the bottom surface of the ears 32, which meansthat, when the protector is installed, the lower edge 40 of the ramp 36portion is approximately ½″ above the floor. The upper and rear 42 ofthe ramp smoothly transitions into the stop 38, which is a substantiallyvertical wall.

The stop 38 has a width equal to that of the ramp 36 (approximately 3″)and a height of approximately 1.5″.

During normal operation, a column protector 30 is installed at the baseof every column 12 to be protected. The column protector 30 is placedsuch that its ears 32 straddle the sides of the column 12, the rear faceof the stop 38 is one-half inch in front of the front of the column 12,and the front edge 40 of the ramp 36 is facing the direction from whichthe fork truck is likely to approach (in most instances this will be theaisle traveled by the fork truck). As the fork truck approaches thecolumn, if the outrigger fork is aimed at the column, instead of hittingthe column, the outrigger fork will ride up the slanting ramp 36. Thisaction will pick the wheel of the fork truck off the floor. If the forktruck is moving too fast such that going up the ramp 36 and picking upthe wheel do not stop the truck, then the offending outrigger fork willhit the upright stop 38, and this will bring the truck to a stop beforeit has a chance to hit and damage the column 12. The left and rightvertical walls 34 also help protect the sides of the column 12 from theforks.

The impact of the fork truck will be transferred through the columnprotector 30 to the floor via the bolts 48 securing the column protector30 to the floor. The direction in which the forces are applied to thebolts is substantially horizontal, while the bolts are mountedsubstantially vertically, so the force would have to shear the bolts inorder to pull them loose, rather than tending to pull them out axially.The column itself will remain unscathed. In this manner, the column 12of the storage rack need only be designed for the load carrying capacityit is expected to handle; the column 12 does not need to be beefed up inorder to handle the potential fork truck abuse. Thus, the column 12preferably is made of thinner-walled material than the column protector30.

FIGS. 6 and 10 show a second embodiment, which is the same as the firstembodiment, except that the rack includes horizontal beams 116 which areclose to the floor, so that they would interfere with the left and rightvertical walls of the column protector. For that reason, the left andright vertical walls have been removed in this embodiment. However, thecolumn protector 130 has all the other parts the same as the previousembodiment, including the ears 132, ramp 136, stop 138, front edge ofthe ramp 140, rear edge of the ramp 142, arms 144, gusset 145, holes(not shown) and bolts 148 extending through the holes.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may bemade to the embodiments described above without departing from the scopeof the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A column protector, comprising: a U-shaped bodyadapted to wrap around the front and sides of a column, including leftand right ears having flat bottom surfaces at a first elevation anddefining holes for bolting to a flat support surface; an intermediateforward ramp between said left and right ears, said intermediate forwardramp having a front edge lying close to said first elevation andextending upwardly and rearwardly to a rear edge at a second, higherelevation; and further comprising a substantially vertical wallprojecting upwardly from the rear edge of said forward ramp.
 2. A columnprotector, as recited in claim 1, and further comprising left and rightvertical walls projecting upwardly from said left and right ears.
 3. Acolumn protector, comprising: a U-shaped body adapted to wrap around thefront and sides of a column, including left and right ears having flatbottom surfaces at a first elevation and defining holes for bolting to aflat support surface; and an intermediate forward ramp between said leftand right ears, said intermediate forward ramp having a front edge lyingclose to said first elevation, extending upwardly and rearwardly to arear edge at a second, higher elevation; left and right verticalprojections from said left and right ears, and a front verticalprojection extending from the rear edge of said intermediate forwardramp.
 4. A rack, comprising: a plurality of front vertical columnshaving flat bottom surfaces lying at a first elevation; a plurality ofrear vertical columns substantially parallel to said front verticalcolumns; a plurality of horizontal beams interconnecting said verticalcolumns to form shelves for supporting products; and a plurality ofcolumn protectors, each including a U-shaped body wrapped around thefront and sides of its respective front vertical column, each columnprotector including left and right ears having flat bottom ear surfacesat said first elevation and defining holes for bolting to a flat supportsurface; an intermediate forward ramp between said left and right earsand in front of said front vertical column, said intermediate forwardramp having a front edge lying close to said first elevation andextending upwardly and rearwardly to a rear edge at a second, higherelevation; and a front upwardly projecting wall extending from the rearedge of said intermediate forward ramp and lying in front of itsrespective front vertical column.
 5. A rack, as recited in claim 4, andfurther comprising left and right vertical walls projecting upwardlyfrom said left and right ears and lying adjacent to the sides of saidfront vertical column.
 6. A rack, as recited in claim 4, wherein saidcolumns are made of a metal having a first thickness, and said columnprotectors are made of a metal having a substantially greater secondthickness, so that said column protectors are stronger than saidcolumns.
 7. A column protector, comprising: a U-shaped body having aninterior surface defining a U-shaped recess, said interior surfaceincluding left and right interior side surfaces extending parallel toeach other, said U-shaped recess being adapted to wrap around the frontand sides of a rectangular cross-section column; left and right ears onsaid U-shaped body, each of said ears having a top surface and a flatbottom surface at a first elevation and defining holes extending fromsaid top surface through said bottom surface for bolting said ears down;and an intermediate forward ramp extending between and supported by saidleft and right ears, said intermediate forward ramp having a front edgelying close to said first elevation and extending upwardly andrearwardly to a rear edge at a second, higher elevation; and a forwardvertical wall projecting upwardly from the rear edge of said forwardramp.
 8. A column protector as recited in claim 2, and furthercomprising left and right vertical walls projecting upwardly from saidleft and right ears.
 9. A column protector as recited in claim 8,wherein said front edge of said intermediate forward ramp defines theforwardmost point of said column protector.
 10. A column protector asrecited in claim 2, wherein said front edge of said intermediate forwardramp defines the forwardmost point of said column protector.